Final Fantasy VII: The Unused Text – Part 10

On the Highwind – Cloud’s Return

The pace is picking up now as we move through the middle portion of disc 2. For this article mecorx has kindly provided her translation services. Translator commentary is once again included and written in italics to distinguish from the author’s commentary.

Nojima’s Highwind (FSHIP_4)

☞ やめる

☞ Cancel

☞ グローバルリセット

☞ Global Reset

☞ CID、リーダーなった

☞ Cid became leader

☞ コレル終了

☞ Corel Complete

☞ コンドル終了

☞ Condor Complete

☞ ウェポンカミングスーン

☞ Weapon Coming Soon

☞ CLOUD飛空艇で語った

☞ Cloud has spoken on the airship

☞ 潜水監終了

☞ Submarine Complete

☞ ロケット終了

☞ Rocket Complete

☞ ブーゲン・ゲット

☞ Bugen Get

☞ ブーゲン降ろした

☞ Bugen Down

☞ シスターレイムービー

☞ Sister Ray Movie

☞ おかの上でした

☞ On top of the hill

Like we’ve seen before, the debug rooms were not the only fields used for jumping to events and debugging them. The train cargo room (CARGOIN) at the very beginning of the game was also used for jumping to different scenarios. Anyone who has played through the game will have at least a general idea of what type of events these options were to teleport the debugger to. In the case of the Highwind fields, most of which were handled by Kazushige Nojima, we can match the debugging options above to different phases of the game’s plot.

“Global Reset” (second-to-top option) is a command that appears a few times in the debug rooms and has the following effect: Game time is set to zero, PHS is unlocked as well as the Save menu, plus a new party is formed where Cloud is the only party member. I speculate that setting the game time to zero is a way to easier measure if an event is too lengthy; instead of checking an external timer, like a watch, the debuggers just enter the menu and observe how much time has passed.

{Yuffie}

YUFFIE

“…Urk…

「……ウップ……

…I’m not down yet.”

……負けないぞォ」

Yuffie’s unused text entry is placed right after the one where Yuffie calls out to Cid after he has just been appointed party leader. Presumably then this is an unused talk-to entry with Yuffie from that period and on.

Tifa is now leader (FSHIP_23)

First of all, to prevent confusion, it should be noted that more than one field is used that display the Highwind bridge. The list goes like this when we match each map to their corresponding events.

FSHIP_2: Contains unused scene where the party talks about what it actually means to be a “Sephiroth clone”. The field is also used for the final Highwind scenes on disc 2.FSHIP_22: Shinra Executives scene. Triggered in the Whirlwind Maze.FSHIP_23: When Tifa is leader and also when Cid takes that position.FSHIP_24: Only accessed for scenes when the team observes that the barrier at the Northern Crater is gone and just before you parachute down to Midgar.FSHIP_25: For most scenarios when Cloud is the leader, including Highwind on disc 3. FSHIP_25 has an incomplete, unused version of the penultimate scene on disc 2 when the crew comes back to join in the fight against Sephiroth. The final game has this scene take place in FSHIP_2 instead.

The point behind presenting this list of similar-looking fields is both to provide a deeper look into how FFVII is built and to give an impression of what a challenge it was to sort all the unused text for this article and part eleven.

Anyhow,

「とりあえずワールドマップへ」

[Let’s go] to the world map for now.

☞I’m going to the World Map

☞ いくです

☞ I’ll go

☞I’m not goin’

☞ いかないです

☞ I won’t go

The original translation is viable but the retranslation uses a more direct approach.

The term “World Map” might be considered to be breaking the fourth wall, leading oneself to wonder if this was only ever a debugger’s note and never intended for the final gameplay.

Pilot in training (LV3)

見習いパイロット（ＬＶ３）

Pilot in training (LV3)

“Yaaaaahh!

「あわわわわ！

AHHHH!

Don’t talk to me right now!”

話しかけないでくださいっ！」

Don’t talk to me right now!

“Get a hold of yourself!”

「しっかりしろい！」

Unnecessary line by Cid in response to the fumbling pilot in training. An “execute this script” command has to be modded into the correct place in the game code in order for the line to trigger. Cid’s yelling fits both into the first time you can speak to the pilot (when Cid is standing further away) and a bit later when Cid says to Tifa that he has to teach this guy how to fly.

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

Cait Sith:

“{Tifa}.”

「TIFAさん」

Tifa.

“You saw him slapping Scarlet around?”

「スカーレットのほっぺたバシバシ

You were slapping Scarlet around, right?

しばいてましたやろ？」

“Yeah, he did a good job, too.

「いや、よ～やってくれました。

Great job there.

It felt good just watching.”

すか～っとしましたわ」

It felt good just watching.

“Let’s never forget that

「あの元気をず～と、忘れんように

Let’s never forget that

spirit, and give it our all!”

がんばりましょうや！」

spirit, and give it our all!

Saviors of the planet. Slappers of bitches in red. Finer heroes have never been seen.

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

“{Tifa}…

「TIFAさん……

Do you think it’s a good

ボクは、神羅やめた方が

idea for me to quit Shinra?”

ええんでしょうかねぇ？」

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

「あ、す、すんません」

“{Tifa}, there’s no way

「TIFAさん、それどころや

I can quit right now…”

あらへんもんなぁ……」

Cait Sith (or Reeve) has no equivalent line in the final game. The closest he gets is the moment in Gold Saucer when he confesses to have doubts about his position in life.

{Cid}

CID

“No use singing the blues, baby.

「落ちこんでてもしょうがねえぞ、ネエちゃん。

The best thing to do is to keep movin’.”

とにかくいろいろ動きまわるこったぜ」

When Tifa is the party leader, the plot progression value (PPV) is 1033. When Cloud is found in Mideel, the PPV advances to 1110, which is when this line by Cid is theoretically available. The exact condition is that Cid must be spoken to when the PPV equals 1110 or higher. But once Cloud is found in Mideel, Tifa never returns to the Highwind as party leader. When Cid ceases to be leader, FSHIP_23 is never revisited.

What Cid’s consoling, unused line implies is a scenario where Tifa does not immediately choose to stay with Cloud. We can’t be sure whether that was the original script draft, if Kazushige Nojima made a mistake or if he just figured “better safe than sorry” when creating this event.

Meeting Room (FSHIP_3)

「仮：TIFA、BARRET、RED XIII」

Tentative: Tifa, Barret, Red XIII

「CIDさんごくろうさまです！

Cid, thanks for your efforts!

「仮：CID、BARRET、CAIT SITH」

Tentative: Cid, Barret, Cait Sith

仮 means temporary/tentative/preliminary, and could denote “tentative party setup”.

Presumably these debugging lines reference default party member setups for when Tifa and Cid respectively become party leaders. It holds true in the final game that Tifa’s and Cid’s party is first formed in this room by talking to the crew guy. However upon entering the party/PHS menu there is no initial party setup like those listed in the unused text entries. Both Tifa and Cid start out alone when entering this menu.

“Cid, thanks for your efforts” is spoken by the crew member who lets you select the PHS, health restoration and the save menu. His used line (in Japanese) where he thanks Cid is exactly the same as the unused one. Was it originally the case that when talking to the crew guy you would be forced into the aforementioned party setups?

(Save Point)

【セーブポイント】

Access the menu and select

メニューを開いて「セーブ」を選ぶと

SAVE to save your game.

ゲームの状態を保存できます。

The presence of a save point is superfluous in the final game as you can access the save menu simply by talking to the Highwind crew member. This hints at the crew guy originally having less of a purpose than he does in the final game.

There is no unused save point model in this field’s data.

Talking to doctor, outside (ITOWN12)

Location Name

Mideel

海流の村 ミディール

Village of Currents Mideel

The field used for the conversation between the doctor and your other party members is in fact only ever used here. The default field when entering Mideel, before the lifestream events, is the visually identical ITOWN1A. If you were to break free from the scene and roam the town, you would find that most NPCs are missing and that none of them can be spoken to. Not even the NPC text from ITOWN1A exists in ITOWN12. Thusly, the location name is the only hidden text piece.

Impressively enough, ITOWN1A has no unused text.

Conference Room, Shinra HQ 66th Floor (BLIN66_6)

BLIN66_6 is used both for when Shinra reveal their plan on how to stop Meteor and when Rufus Shinra is presumed dead. The conference room you saw in the disc 1 scenarios was in fact BLIN66_2.

It is said that “666” is the number of the devil. How fitting then that the Shinra HQ conference room is here labelled “66_6”.

Location Name

Conference Room

会議室

The location name in BLIN66_2 is simply “Shinra Bldg. 66f.” (神羅ビル・６６階).

Cid is now leader (FSHIP_23)

When Cid becomes the official leader of the group, the pilot in training reaches LV5.

Pilot in training (LV5)

見習いパイロット（ＬＶ５）

“Eaggggghh!

「あわわわわ！

Congrats’ on becoming

艇長、リーダー就任おめでとうさんです！」

our leader, Cap’n!”

Before the player can return to the overworld, they must go to the operation/meeting room and get a full party of three. Once you do that, the pilot reaches LV6. However, the unused text has a scenario where you can get back to the overworld while the pilot is still on LV5.

Pilot in training (LV5)

見習いパイロット（ＬＶ５）

“Yaaah! Are we taking off?”

「あわわ！ いくですか？」

☞ Yes

☞ いく

☞ No

☞ いかない

Pilot in training (LV5)

見習いパイロット（ＬＶ５）

“Eagggggh! We’re taking off now!”

「あわわ！ いくで～す！」

When Cid becomes party leader and the quest for the Huge Materia at North Corel and Fort Condor begins, Cait Sith has the following used talk-to line.

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

“Hmmn, the Huge Materia is at

「ええと、ヒュージマテリアは

Corel, Fort Condor, and…”

コレル、コンドルフォート……」

“I’m sure there was another place that had it.

「他にもまだあったような

Where was that…?”

気がしますけど、どこやったかなぁ……」

This does not change until both Huge Materia missions are finished. The characters Barret, Red XIII and Vincent will have some change to their script after the North Corel mission is finished (before the Fort Condor mission is done). Cait Sith’s data does the same programming check but notably still ever uses the line about where each Huge Materia is. The unused talk-to entry below might have been that different line Cait Sith would speak after the North Corel mission but in the end his more informative line stayed.

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

“{Cid},

「CIDさん、期待してますで～」

I’m expecting big things from you”

After both the Huge Materia missioned are done with, Cid will comment that it is tough being a leader and that Cloud did a great job. Talk to Vincent and he will remark to Cid “You look really tired, maybe you’re ready to give up being leader?”

Cait Sith’s unused talk-to line reflect the sentiments of both Cid and Vincent and was probably intended for this moment when both the North Corel and Fort Condor missions have been completed.

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

“{Cid}, you’re tired, huh?”

「CIDさん、つかれてますなぁ」

“I’d like to change places with you, but

「代わってあげたいんやけど

I’m in charge of information,

ボク、情報係ですから、すんませんなぁ」

so I can’t. Sorry.”

For the sake of comparing, here is Cait Sith’s used line for this point in the game.

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

“Shinra’s…stopped.”

「神羅の動き……止まりましたで」

“Now we’ve got to be careful.

「でも、こういう時は要注意ですのや。

I know Heidegger and his gang

ハイデッカーたちがなんか考えてるに

are plotting something.”

ちがいまへんわ」

Train Mission (ZCOAL_1 & ZCOAL_3)

These fields, as well as the intermediate map ZCOAL_2, has an invisible, empty text entry. The window is what contains the countdown timer at this point, so technically this window is used.

ZCOAL_1
The English text is ripped from the PlayStation version in this instance so that the buttons given better match up with the Japanese text.

left lever …(Directional button up)

左レバー 右レバー

Left Lever Right Lever

right lever…(△ button)

【方向キー上】 【△ボタン】

[Directional Button Up] [△ Button]

左レバー 右レバー

Left Lever Right Lever

【上キー】 【△ボタン】

[Directional Button Up] [△ Button]

The ZCOAL map belongs to a huge duplicate group. In the other field files with the same text, this button tutorial exists but in the slightly different form seen above. The correspodning ZCOAL_3 line also looked different at one point.

ZCOAL_3
English text from the PlayStation version, here too.

left lever …(up)Directional button up

左レバー 右レバー

Left Lever Right Lever

(down)Directional button down

上【方向キー上】 【△ボタン】

Up [Directional Button Up] [△Button]

right lever…(up)△ button

下【方向キー下】 【×ボタン】

Down [Directional Button Down] [× Button]

(down)× button

左レバー 右レバー

Left Lever Right Lever

上【上キー】 【△ボタン】

Up [Up Button] [△ Button]

下【下キー】 【×ボタン】

Down [Down Button] [× Button]

Successful Train Mission (NCOREL3)

NCOREL3 is a field only ever visited for when you stop the train, get the Huge Materia and get greeted by the now-more-hopeful people of North Corel. The default field is NCOREL, visually identical to NCOREL3, unless the train crashed into North Corel in which case the default map becomes NCOREL2.

The unused text below are clear leftovers/repeats from used text in NCOREL.

武器屋

Weapon Shop

“You’ll need weapons from our store,

「生き抜いていくには

You’ll need weapons from our store,

if you want to survive.”

この店の武器が必要だぜ」

if you want to survive.

道具屋

Armor Shop

“Please buy something.

「何でもイイ

Please buy something.

Anything!”

買ってちょうだい！」

Anything!

Exactly the same as in NCOREL

The store accessed here is the Tool Shop, which is exactly the same as in the default field NCOREL.

Moving around freely, no areas can be accessed other than the Gold Saucer railway thingy. Not even the overworld is accessed.

“If you see anything you like, buy it.”

「気に入ったたら買ってくれ」

The game does not allow you to move around enough to access any of the stores before the plot teleports you to the inn, making you leave NCOREL3 forever.

Failed Mission (NCOREL2)

☞ The train’s crashing in

☞ 列車がつっこんで来るで～

☞ Thank you, God, the train stopped.

☞ 神さまアリガトウ、列車が止まった

☞ It didn’t do any damage.”

☞ なんにもしなかった」

The first line, translated as “The train’s crashing in”, is definitely written in kansai dialect, which is what Cait Sith speaks in. Could this be the dialect of the field’s event planner Hideshi Kyonen?

With these options, the debugger would access any of the three possible outcomes of the North Corel Huge Materia mission. If the timer reaches zero when you are on the coal train, the train crashes into North Corel. If you stop the train then North Corel is safe and the Huge Materia is gained. The third scenario is if the timer reaches zero and you never caught up with the coal train in the first place, which is what the “It didn’t do any damage” option presumably refers to.

“I heard that kid found

「あのボウズが何か光るものを

something that glows.”

ひろったって言ってたぜ」

When the Huge Materia mission happens, PPV=1110 (if both the Fort Condor and North Corel missions are done, PPV will have progressed to 1116). But this talk-to-line is set to be available when PPV is less than 1022. So to trigger this line you’d have to get the Huge Materia mission even before Tifa reaches the end of the Junon Cannon, which is the exact moment when PPV is set to 1022. Might be that the event planner intended for the line to be available at a late point in the game, but programmed the event wrong.

道具屋

Tool Shop Merchant

“I have a tool shop,

「せっかく道具屋やってんのに

I have a tool shop,

but I don’t have any tools

店をなおす道具がナイんだ…」

but I don’t have any tools to fix my store…

to fix my store…”

It’s almost like he is begging to become a sidequest, isn’t he?

After the train crashes into North Corel, Cid wakes up at the inn. When the player goes out, the party members split and comment on the devastation. Oddly enough, Tifa has something to say if you mod/cheat her into your party.

{Tifa}

TIFA

Tifa

“We have to do something about Shinra!

「神羅をなんとかしなくちゃ！

We have to do something about Shinra!

Sick of hearin’

もうこんな悲しいことはたくさんよ！」

I’m sick of hearin’ about sad things like this!

about sad things like this!”

The Japanese line for “sick of hearin'” lacks a subject but it’s common in Japanese for subjects to get dropped and the translator should have included “I’m” in there.

Failed Mission, Did Not Catch Up (NCOREL)

Tifa appears yet again in the third scenario, when the player failed to catch up to the coal train. Although this snapshot above show Cid as the leader, if we are to go with what the event planner likely intended, Tifa should be the leader when this text entry is unlocked.

{Tifa}

TIFA

“I wonder what Shinra wants to do

「神羅は、あのヒュージマテリアを

with all that Huge Materia?”

何に使おうとしているのかしら？」

Tifa’s unused script reveals that this scenario depends on the Huge Materia mission being available even before Cait Sith had everybody listen in on the meeting where Shinra laid out their plan. In the final game, the segment with the coal train has no way to be triggered when Tifa is the party leader.

The event planner for North Corel was Hideshi Kyonen while the planner for the coal train segment was Takashi Tokita. The Z_COAL fields don’t even have Tifa’s field model anywhere, making the dissonance between the two planners all the more apparent.

If we take a look at the field model data of MTCRL_2 however, where the Huge Materia mission for North Corel begins, we find that Tifa’s model has animations available for the scenario when the Shinra infantrymen are encountered and when the coal train takes off. The file names for these animations have Takashi Tokita’s signature. See below:

FPJC.tak —— FPJB.takAnimations within MTCRL_2 data but never triggered there

If you force Tifa into the party when Cid is the party leader and try to initiate the Huge Materia mission here, the game will freeze because it will try to activate a command in Tifa’s script which does not exist. Even so, the existence of her animations show that at one point Takashi Tokita was preparing to have Tifa in the Huge Materia scenario, but quickly scrapped it and became more up to date than Hideshi Kyonen (who made the mistake of including Tifa in North Corel when she wasn’t supposed to be there).

The entirety of Fort Condor’s unused text can be found in The Unused Text: Part 6 (Page 1), including the little that relates to the Huge Materia mission. We now return to Mideel to visit Cloud & Tifa.

Island Town Hospital (ITHOS)

“Sometimes he mumbles

「そうそう、彼、時々ナンバーが

Yes, sometimes he mumbles

about numbers…

どうのってつぶやくんだけど……

things about numbers……

I wonder what it means?”

なんのことなのかしら？」

I wonder what it means?

In the text entry list, this unused line is placed inbetween two lines by the nurse thus making it very likely that she is the speaker. The unused text complements the used text entry of Cloud’s mumbling.

{CLOUD}

CLOUD

“uh…a….aah…”

「う……あ……ああ」

“…what…

「……。俺……。

What number….am I?”

ナンバー……いくつ？」

In the final game neither the nurse nor the doctor comment on Cloud’s mumbling.

Mideel, Frog Perspective (ITOWN2)

Location Name

ミディール いこいの場

Mideel Rest Stop

{Cid}

CID

“…!?”

「……！？」

{Cid}

CID

“Damn, you gotta be kiddin’!!”

「ち、まさか……！！」

Cid reacts to the second earthquake that begins after Ultima Weapon flies away.

Trivia: Although the game calls this enemy “Ultimate Weapon” the more direct translation would be “Ultima Weapon”.

Lifestream Pool (LIFE)

Location Name

ライフストリーム

Lifestream

In the English game, this field completely lacks text entries. But the menu will still try to display something. Access the menu and you’ll find jibberish. The jibberish may change depending on how you go about to enter the menu. When modding menu-access via makou reactor, the jibberish was this:

On the other hand, when using a more gameshark-type cheat device, this was the result:

“akao” refers to the sound designer of FFVII, Minoru Akao. The sound effect files in the game has his signature. In this field you hear a version of the “Planet Cry” sound, meaning that the jibberish you see in the menu of the English game is related to the sound effect that is playing at just that moment.

Tifa in Limbo (BLACKBGJ)

Location Name

ライフストリーム

Lifestream

Cloud’s Mind, First (ZMIND1)

Location Name

マインドフィールド

Mind Field

Gates of Nibel (NIVGATE2)

Here we find a shorter, unused version of a familiar, used line.

セフィロス

Sephiroth:

“This is your hometown, right?”

「故郷なんだろ？」

This is your hometown, right?

Sephiroth

セフィロス

“It’s your first time back to your hometown

「ひさしぶりの故郷なんだろ？」

in a long time, right?

Cloud’s Mind, Second (ZMIND2)

Location Name

マインドフィールド２

Mind Field 2

Nibel Well, Second (NIVL_E2)

Mod the game in the proper area to make it refer to Tifa’s unused line in this scene.

{Tifa}

TIFA

“That night the stars were gorgeous.

「星がとってもきれいな夜、CLOUDと私。

It was just {Cloud} and I.

ふたり、給水塔でお話した……」

We talked at the well…”

{Tifa}

TIFA

“He remembered our promise too…”

「約束だって覚えていた……」

{Tifa}

TIFA

“That’s why I kept thinking you

「だから私は、どんなときでも

were the real {Cloud}.”

あなたは本当のCLOUDだって思っていたの」

Cloud’s Mind, Third (ZMIND3)

Location Name

マインドフィールド３

Mind Field 3

“It’s important to me…

「おれにとっては大切な……

I hate to say it, but

悔しかったけど……

it’s a very important memory.”

すごく大切な思い出なんだ……」

“Do you want to see it?”

「……行ってみる？」

……Do you want to go there?

Literal translation would be “Do you want to try going there?”.

{Tifa}

TIFA

“Oh…wait!”

「あ……待って！」

“Come on, hurry.”

「さあ、はやく」

In her unused line Tifa reacts to Kid-Cloud running off.

Tifa’s House 2nd Floor, Dream (NIV_TI4)

Location Name

{Tifa}’s House

TIFAの家２階

Tifa’s House 2nd Floor

The location names of Tifa’s house in the English game lacks references to which floor one is on.

Tifa’s Room, Window (NIV_TI3)

NIV_TI3 contain some of the script that normally continues on in NIV_TI4, with a few superficial differences to observe between the two.

After the used line below, the game normally teleports you from NIV_TI3 back to NIV_TI4.

{Tifa}

TIFA

Tifa

“I’ve known you since we were children

「ずーっと小さなころから

I’ve always thought we were close

and always thought we were close…”

仲良くしてたと思ってたのに……」

ever since we were children…

The used text presented below is from NIV_TI4 while the unused are from NIV_TI3; this to show all their differences.

{Tifa}

TIFA

Tifa

“…It was so sudden.

「そう……あのときは突然だったね。

Yeah… It was so sudden.

I was a bit…surprised.”

私も……ちょっとビックリした」

I was a bit…surprised.

{Tifa}

TIFA

“But…”

「でもね……」

{Tifa}

TIFA

“It’s true we weren’t THAT close, but…”

「たしかに私たちは

それほど仲良しじゃなかったけど……」

{Tifa}

TIFA

“That’s right…”

「……そうだったよね」

“I…really didn’t know {Cloud}

「私……CLOUDのこと

that well.”

あまり知らなかったんだよね」

“That’s why I was a bit surprised

「だから、給水塔に呼び出された時

when {Cloud} asked me

ちょっとびっくりしたんだ」

to come out to the well.”

“{Tifa} always used

「TIFAはね、いつでも

Tifa always used

to have her own group.”

この仲良し３人組といっしょだった」

to have her own group of 3 friends.

“I really wanted to play with everyone,

「本当はみんなといっしょに遊びたいのに

I really wanted to play with everyone,

but you never let me in the group.”

どうしても、仲間に入れてって言えなかった」

but I could never ask to be included.

Out of embarrassment and/or feeling unworthy he never asked to be included.

“{Tifa} was so popular and

「TIFAはみんなの人気者だったし

Tifa was so popular and besides,

I never played much with the others…”

俺、みんなとは仲良くしてなかったし……」

I didn’t get along well with the others…

{Tifa}

TIFA

“After you left town,

「CLOUDが村を出てからは

I really thought about you a lot.”

あなたのこと、ほんとによく考えたのよ」

{Tifa}

TIFA

“But, but listen!

「でもね、でもね！

After {Cloud} left town,

CLOUDが村を出てからは

I thought about him a lot.”

CLOUDのこと、よく考えたの」

In this one case below, the Japanese text is the same between both versions.

{Tifa}

TIFA

“I used to wonder

「CLOUDはどうしてるかな？」

how {Cloud} was doing.”

“I wondered if you were

「CLOUDはソルジャーに

able to get into SOLDIER?”

なれたのかなって」

{Tifa}

TIFA

“I thought, I wonder how

「CLOUDはどうしてるかな？」

{Cloud} is doing?”

“I wondered if he was

「CLOUDはソルジャーに

able to get into SOLDIER?”

なれたのかなって」

“I started reading the newspapers, thinking

「CLOUDの記事、のってるかもしれないから

I might see an article about you.”

新聞だって読むようになったの」

“I even started reading the newspaper,

「CLOUDの記事、あるかと思って

just to see if {Cloud} was

新聞だって読むようになったのよ」

in any of the articles.”

A Story of Scraped Knees & Text (WHITEBG1)

Used WHITEBG3 fieldversusunused WHITEBG1

The scene with young Tifa and Cloud laying unconscious on the ground, in a completely white background, takes place in WHITEBG3 in the final game. In typical fashion, the original Japanese release reveals that WHITEBG1 has a beta-version of the scene where Cloud and Tifa just fell. In all other releases, too much data has been deleted to unlock any scene or text.

At one point in the game’s development, the table from which the game takes its kanji symbols was updated with more kanji. When this happened, the ID corresponding to many symbols changed, resulting in the false symbols being displayed. This is what happened for the text of the hidden Honey Bee Inn fields and is also what the original English texhappened with WHITEBG1. Only a single line in the WHITEBG1 scene is without errors; the second line by Tifa’s father. Incidentally, this is the only text entry which differs from the final scene in a bigger way.

Luck has it that Kazushige Nojima kept the old kanji table recorded in his debug room, BLACKBG5, and by comparing this one and the final kanji table, Asa of Qhimm has been able to restore the text of both Honey Bee Inn and WHITEBG1. The WHITEBG1 text tables displayed here show the corrected Japanese text.

There is disparity in the scene choreography as well. The beta scene has young Tifa laying on top of young Cloud, whereas the finalized scene has them separate from each other. Was this change made to be more consistent with the impression that Tifa fell before Cloud? We can only speculate. There are many other tiny differences in how the field models move and act, which is best appreciated via the video embedded at the beginning of this article.

– The line by the other adult is written slightly different, when comparing corrected WHITEBG1 and the WHITEBG3.
– Another name tag, this one for Cloud, is missing in the final text.

Keep in mind now that the original English text below is from the used scene, while the Japanese is from the corrected WHITEBG1 text and that the retranslations are based on those.

“I don’t remember the path I walked.”

『どこをどう歩いたのか

覚えてないんだ』

“{Tifa} missed her step.

『ティファが足をふみ外して

I ran to her…but didn’t make it in time.”

俺はあわててかけ寄って

でも間に合わなかった』

“We both fell off the cliff.”

『ふたりとも……ガケから落ちたんだ』

“Back then, I only scarred my knees

『この時はヒザすりむいただけで

but…”

すんだけど……』

ティファパパ

Tifa’s Father

“{Cloud}!

「クラウド！

“Cloud!

Why’d you bring {Tifa}

どうしてこんなところへ

Why’d you bring Tifa

to a place like this!”

ティファを連れだしたんだ！」

to a place like this!”

Suddenly a bigger difference appears.

別の大人

Another Adult

「まったく！

“Man!

何を考えてるのか

This guy is

わからないやつだな！」

impossible!

Literally: impossible to understand; don’t know what he’s thinking.

WHITEBG3 Version

“What the hell’s the matter with you!?”

「まったく！

“Man!

おまえが何を考えてるのか

What the hell

ぜんぜんわからん！」

were you thinking!?”

ティファパパ

Tifa’s Father

“What if she dies!?”

「ティファにもしものことがあったら

“What are you going to do

どうするつもりなんだ！！」

if the worst should happen to her?!”

Reads as in “How are you going to take responsibility for her death (if she dies)!?” Tifa’s father doesn’t actually use the word ‘die’ here directly.

The used version of the line below simply lacks the name header, plus (as seen in previous examples) Tifa’s name is not hard-coded in final version.

シルエット男

Silhouetted Man

“{Tifa} was in a coma

『ティファは７日間

“Tifa was in a coma

for seven days.”

意識不明だった』

for seven days.”

“We all thought she wouldn’t make it.”

『死んでしまうかと思った』

“If only I could’ve saved her…”

『俺がちゃんと助けていれば……』

“I was so angry…

『悔しかったんだ……

“I was so angry……

at myself for my weakness.”

何もできなかった

at how weak I was for

自分の弱さに腹が立った』

not being able to do anything.”

“Ever since then,

『それからはティファが

I felt {Tifa} blamed me…”

いつも俺を責めているような

気がしてさ』

“I went out of control…

『俺は荒れていった……

I’d get into fights

誰かれかまわず

with anyone.”

ケンカをしかけて……』

“That was the first time

『そんな時だ。

I heard about Sephiroth.”

セフィロスのことを知ったのは』

“I thought if I were strong

『セフィロスのように強くなりたい。

“I wanted to become strong like Sephiroth.

like Sephiroth, then…”

強くなれば、みんな俺のことを……』

If I were strong, everyone would…”

The implication is that people would like him better and/or rely on him.

In WHITEBG1 Cloud and Tifa’s names are hard-coded, which means that no matter what you name them whilst playing the game, their canon names will be displayed. Looking at this and other text files, the function to make the displayed name reflect the player’s choice of name was not the part of the first step when inserting the game text into the actual game.

Incidentally, both WHITEBG1 and WHITEBG3 have no full music tracks in their data. WHITEBG3 however has a very short “silent track”, for the purpose of cancelling the track “On The Other Side Of The Mountain” which will be playing because it was activated in an earlier field/event.

WHITEBG3 is part of a duplicate group, with text belonging to areas such as the 70th floor of Shinra HQ, Midgar outskirts, the Nibel mountains and the Nibel mako reactor. WHITEBG1 is also part of this duplicate group, albeit an older version of it. The remaining secrets of the exotic WHITEBG1 will be divulged in an Unused Text feature separate from the numbered articles.

Brief Nibel (NIVL_2)

Location Name

Nibelheim

ニブルヘイム

NIVL_2 is only ever accessed for the transition when Cloud and Tifa run through town on their way to the mako reactor.

Although it is unknown why, this field’s data has an unused jump to TRACKIN, the truck interior map for Cloud’s false flashback to the conversations there. TRACKIN2 is used for the real flashback where Zack is around.

Inside Truck, Version #2 (TRACKIN2)

The unused text of TRACKIN was revealed in Part 2 and Part 5 (Page 2) in this article series. TRACKIN2 is a visually identical field but with different data.

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“Yeah…this is…me.”

「そう……これが……俺だ」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“Not in SOLDIER, just a common grunt.”

「ソルジャーなんかじゃないただの兵士」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“I…never made it as a member of SOLDIER.”

「俺、ソルジャーにはなれなかったよ」

The player briefly teleports to NIVL_B12, where we see Cloud (in Shinra uniform) trying to get up. As was described in Part 5 (Page 2) in this article series, NIVL_B12 and NIVL_B1 make up a small duplicate group. The only difference in their data is that this brief scene of Cloud trying to get up exists only in NIVL_B12. What this means is that the false version of the flashback where Cloud runs out of the Shinra Manor also exists in NIVL_B12 but is never triggered there.

After this brief scene we move on to the reactor…

Nibel Reactor (NVMKIN22)

Location Name

Nibel Reactor(Int.)

ニブル魔晄炉内部

Nibel Mako Reactor Interior

Location name is identical to that of NVMKIN21, which is the visually identical version of this map that is accessed both in the Kalm flashback and when roaming the Nibel mountains at present time.

Lifestream, Second (LIFE2)

Visually identical to LIFE, but the location name is different and the map is used for showing Cloud and Tifa emerge to the surface, rather than submerging further down.

Location Name

ライフストリーム２

Lifestream 2

Here, too, the string of jibberish/code can be seen if the menu is accessed in the English PlayStation version. With the aforementioned gameshark method, the “Akao” signature is shown yet again. But when modding forth menu-access via Makou Reactor, the nonsense became limited to a single letter.

Mideel Lifestream Shore (ITHILL)

Location Name

ミディールの岸

Mideel Shore

What is Cloud? (FSHIP_2)

Anyway, I’m heading for the World Map.

「とりあえずワールドマップへ」

☞Go.

☞ いくです

☞Don’t go.

☞ いかないです

The Japanese text is identical to an unused line we saw at the beginning of this article, in FSHIP_23. Just like before, we wonder if this line was ever considered for use in the final game before the pilot (who goes up in level as the plot progresses) was implemented.

The following unused scene has some level of fame, stemming from back in 2008 when BrutalAl uploaded a recording of the scene. With a misty Highwind cockpit as the backdrop, we see text windows pop up where Cait Sith reveals to the others just what Cloud really is.

The condition for triggering this is that you visit FSHIP_2 when the plot progression value is less than 1199.

{Barret}

BARRET

What the hell was up with

「なあ、結、CLOUDは

{Cloud} anyway?

なんだったんだ？」

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

He was a Sephiroth-clone

「宝条が創り出した

created by Hojo.

セフィロス・コピーですわな」

{Cid}

CID

They really make those?

「そんなもん、創れるのか？」

{Cait Sith}

CAIT SITH

Cait Sith

Well he wasn’t made from scratch.

「ゼロから創ったんとは、ちゃいますやろ」

“Well he wasn’t made from scratch.

They implanted Jenova cells

「きっと、普通の人間にジェノバ細胞を移植して

They probably implanted Jenova cells into a normal human

into a normal human being

魔晄づけにしたんやな」

and then infused them with Mako energy.”

and then infused it with Mako energy.

Although Cait Sith says that they “probably” or “most likely” implanted Jenova cells into a normal human he speaks with a fair amount of confidence.

{Red XIII}

RED XIII

Well then, what is {Cloud}?

「じゃあ、CLOUDは？」

CAIT SITH

Cait Sith

「TIFAさんの幼なじみの

“Tifa’s childhood

CLOUDさんですわ」

friend, Cloud.

「５年前、ニブルヘイムのセフィロス事件……

5 years ago, during the Sephiroth incident at

そのときに意識不明の重体……

Nibelheim.. Cloud was rendered unconscious…

宝条の実験に使われた……」

He was used as Hojo’s experiment…

「宝条は、よ～さんの人間に

Hojo probably did the same

同じようなことしたんでしょうなぁ」

to countless others.”

{Red XIII}

RED XIII

But why only {Cloud}?

「でも、どうしてCLOUDだけが……」

The scene is famous for clearly explaining what the “Sephiroth Clones” are, in a way that doesn’t happen in the final game. The word “clone” is misleading and neither Cloud nor the people in black capes were made from scratch. The final game doesn’t show Cait Sith having any knowledge about what the Sephiroth Copies. Maybe the writers thought it would be inconsistent if Cait Sith had this knowledge but never told anyone up until now? That is one theory, among others, as to why the scene was scrapped.

In the final game, Cloud is the one who does all the explaining, when everyone is gathered in the meeting room.

When the scene ends, the plot progression value jumps to 1197 and you are forcefully teleported to FSHIP_4.

An empty text box appears and the player is unable to move. Clicking past the text box then makes you jump to FSHIP_5, the airship Chocobo stall. Only, you are suspended above the field’s walkmesh, meaning that you can’t walk around. All you can do is change Cloud’s direction.

What is the purpose of these events? I speculate that the empty text entry was once used for debugging and that it had several scenes you could jump to. Just like the debugging entry we saw at the very beginning of this article, when we were also in FSHIP_4. Then, when the teleportation window became superfluous, Kazushige Nojima (who handled most of the Highwind scenarios) deleted all the jumps except the one to FSHIP_5.

There are many instances in the debug rooms when the player will find themselves stuck after jumping maps via a debug option. Perhaps the event planners had more tools to adjust the position of the player character to land on the walkmesh, or the designated coordinates for the jump looked different at an earlier point in the game’s design. Either way, this jump to FSHIP_5 is very reminiscent of jumps made to other maps via the debug rooms.

Cloud is Back! (FSHIP_3)

CLOUDの演説ながなが終了

Cloud’s speech draws to a close

This lonely debug note attracts speculation. Was this only a title card for before the whole scene begins? Is it a remnant of what used to be a longer list of “jump to this part of the scene” debug options? It is not unreasonable to imagine that the debugger would divide a scene into segments, meaning that there was once the option to jump to when Cloud’s speech begins, in contrast to this apparent option for when the speech draws to a close.

“There ain’t no gettin’ offa this train we on!”

「俺たちが乗った列車は

There’s no getting off this train we’ve boarded

途中下車はできないんだ！」

half way through the ride!

A weird story behind this “unused” piece… In the Japanese game, it is a used text entry. In the list of entries it is #30. But for some reason, in the English game, this one was neglected in favor of a new, English-exclusive, text entry. This one labelled #39.

“There ain’t no gettin’

offa this train!”

{Tifa}

TIFA

“Let’s do it, {Cloud}!”

「がんばろうね、CLOUD！」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“Yeah…huff…heave…”

「ハァ……ハァ……」

Crew Man

“Are you okay?”

「大丈夫ですか！？」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“…I hate moving vehicles.

「……乗り物には弱いんだ。

I always get sick.”

すぐに気分が悪くなる」

Crew Man

“That’s too bad…”

「それはそれは……」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“But that’s okay.

「でも、いいんだ。

That’s the real me.”

これが……俺なんだ」

It is not clear if Tifa is meant to be present during this exchange between Cloud and the Highwind crew guy.

BONUS: There is the “preparation” in the game data for an event to happen here at PPV=1568. This moment corresponds to when Diamond Weapon appears and until after the party personally confront Diamond Weapon, which is when the PPV jumps to 1570. The same scene preparation, without an actual scene programmed into it, also exists in FSHIP_4. Perhaps scenes that ended up taking place on the Highwind bridge, when the team reacts to Diamond Weapon emerging from the sea, were planned once for the meeting room and FSHIP_4.

Cloud is leader (again) (FSHIP_25)

Say hello to FSHIP_25, which will be used for most of the scenarios when Cloud is yet again the leader. This is the Highwind map that players roam at the very end of the game’s story.

Head out?

「行きますか？」

☞Yes

☞ いくです

☞No

☞ いかないです

Head out?

「行きますか？」

☞Yes

☞ いくです

☞No

☞ いかないです

☞Last Dungeon

☞ ラスダン

To have an NPC refer to “Last Dungeon” this way sounds like it would break the fourth wall, ergo why I speculate that both of these, just like the similar unused lines in FSHIP_23 and FSHIP_2, were only for use by the debuggers.

“Heyyy!

「あわわわわ！ ちょっと待ってください！」

What a minute!”

From the tone of things, this sounds either like Barret or Cid. But in what context was it to be used? We can’t know for sure.

Shared Suffering of Cloud & Yuffie (FSHIP_4)

Used Text Shown Above

Talk to Yuffie and trigger a lengthy discourse with her about motion sickness. In the middle of this discussion, there is a superfluous locked text piece about what NOT to do, if you want to avoid motion sickness.

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“Read!”

「字を読むこと！」

{Yuffie}

YUFFIE

“Read!”

「字を読むこと！」

The direct translation would be “Read text!”

We’re friends, right? (ZTRUCK)

With Cloud having his memories back, we can now visit the Shinra Mansion basement and trigger the flashback where Zack and Cloud escape. An extra space between tables indicate that used script has been omitted.

“Shaddap!

「うるさい！

You’re lucky I even

乗せてやっただけでも

gave you a ride!”

ありがたく思え！」

Zack

ザックス

Zack

“Hah!”

「チッ…」

“Pfft…”

Zack

ザックス

“What’re you gonna do

「なあ、ミッドガルに着いたら

once we get to Midgar?”

おまえ、どうする？」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“…”

「………」

Zack

ザックス

Zack

“I know what I’m

「俺はあちこちに

“I’ve got some connections

gonna do.”

あてがあるんだ」

here and there.”

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“…”

「………」

Zack

ザックス

“Guess that’s out.”

「そりゃマズいよな～あ？」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“…”

「………」

Cloud actually uses an identical line, like above. Only it uses text entry #9, seen before, and not #15.

Zack

ザックス

Zack

“Yep…gotta change

「ダメだ…作戦チェンジ！」

“This won’t do… gotta change the battle plan!”

my plans!”

作戦 can be a literal battle plan or just a plan/strategy in general. The word “battle plan” may be due to Zack being a military guy.

“You gotta pay your dues

「若いうちにいろいろ

You gotta pay your dues

while you’re young.”

苦労してなぁ。

while you’re young.

“Go out and look for

自分の道ってやつを

Find what they call

what you really want.”

探すのよ」

“your own way”

Zack

ザックス

Zack

“Yeah, whatever…”

「……なんでもやってみろ？

“… Try everything?

……自分の道だぁ？」

… My own way?”

The official translation conveys the feeling of these lines.

Zack

ザックス

“Try everything…

「なんでも、だってよ。

That’s easy for him to say.”

そんなこと言われたってな…」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“…”

「………」

Zack

ザックス

“Just kidding…

「……冗談だよ」

I won’t leave you hanging like that.”

「おまえを放り出したりは

しないよ」

{Cloud}

CLOUD

“…”

「………」

Zack

ザックス

“We’re friends, right?”

「……トモダチ、だろ？」

ザックス

Zack

「はははは……照れるぜ」

“Hahaha… aw, shucks.”

Zack

ザックス

“Mercenaries. {Cloud}.

「なんでも屋だ、CLOUD。

That’s what you an’ me are gonna be.”

俺たちは

なんでも屋をやるんだ」

Zack

ザックス

“Understand, {Cloud}?”

「わかるか、CLOUD？」

BLACKBGD versus ZTRUCK

BLACKBGD is a rather eventless field that is only ever used to make you jump to BLACKBGB, which will then take you back to the game after a flashback, a minigame or a disc change. But in the English game BLACKBGD holds translated text of the ZTRUCK scene. There is no text data here at all in any Japanese version.

Why is this so? Remember that in the original Japanese edition, released on January 1997, the flashback scenes with Cloud and Zack, triggered in the Shinra Mansion, did not exist. The English speaking players were the first to enjoy the new scenes and bosses, when the game reached North America on September 1997. Japan had to wait a month, until October, before finally getting their upgraded “International” release.

In other words it is very likely that the game was being translated from Japanese to English when all the changes and additions were made to the game. For some reason, the text for the ZTRUCK scene had been placed into the BLACKBGD field, possibly for debugging, and these were the files received by the main translator, Michael Baskett. However in the Japanese edition, the text was deleted in time for release. This is all merely my speculation, of course.

We can summarize the differences between BLACKBGD and ZTRUCK rather quicky. BLACKBGD has…
– Text often displayed in fewer rows.
– Fewer “page breaks”; instances when you click to see the next page of the text window’s content. The scene would have had bigger text windows this way.
– One text entry in BLACKBGD is divided into three in ZTRUCK (see tables below).
– The unused text entry where Zack laughs, which was blank in the English ZTRUCK, is actually translated IN BLACKBGD.

Zack

“I got a place I can crash for a while…

No wait, the mother lives there, too…

Guess that’s out…”

Zack

ザックス

“I got a place I can

「みんなの世話んなって……」

crash for a while…”

Zack

ザックス

“No wait, the mother

「あ、どの女の子も

lives there too.”

親といっしょに

住んでるのか……」

Zack

ザックス

“Guess that’s out.”

「そりゃマズいよな～あ？」

Zack

“Ha, ha, ha…knock it off,

you’re embarrassin’ me!”

Compare with the unused text entry found in ZTRUCK:

ザックス

Zack

「はははは……照れるぜ」

“Hahaha… aw, shucks.”

Zack Flashback Fields

SININB36 ————— SININB35 ————— SININB34 ————— NIVGATE4 ————— MIDGAL*

*MIDGAL image cut in height to fit with other maps.

Excluding ZTRUCK, the flashback fields triggered via the Shinra Mansion basement make up their own duplicate group of text. Each of these fields have the same text data as the other.

You cannot take on anymore Materia.

これいじょうマテリアは持てません。

You can not hold any more Materia.

Please discard some Materia.

なにかマテリアをすててください。

Please discard some Materia.

In all versions of the game (excluding JORG, since these fields did not exist in that release) we have an empty text entry, followed by a rather odd entry that only has text in the English version.

Received “High Blow ST”!

We might apply the same theory here as we did before with BLACKBGD; Michael Baskett received older files of Japanese text than what we see in the final release of FFVII International, hence the exclusive presence of “High Blow ST” in the English game.

But where does High Blow ST come from? Why is there a “You cannot take on anymore Materia” text entry, for that matter? The explanation lies in analysing another duplicate group.

In the first area of the Ancient Forest you can pick up Vincent’s weapon “Supershot ST”. In Japanese the weapon reads ハイブ口ウST, which can be translated as “High Blow ST”. The Ancient Forest also has the text data for Bone Village, the Junon Airport and the Shinra Mansion.

When work began on the “Zack & Cloud Escapes” flashback scenes for FFVII International, the developers must have copied the field of SININB32 (or SININB42 or SININB52 or some other field in this duplicate group) which, again, has text from the Ancient Forest where you pick up the Supershot ST.

SININB32 ——— SININB42 ——— SININB52

This makes sense, both because of the map image in question and because the field has the text for the reports on Cloud and Zack’s escape, plus the nail carvings Zack and Cloud made in their respective tubes.

All the fields in this original duplicate group have the “You cannot take anymore materia” as their 0th text entry. Thusly both the materia line and the “High Blow ST” entry have been explained.